Thanks all for your company and comments – enjoy the rest of the weekend. Bye!
And here’s Louise Taylor’s match report.
I’m surprised with formations Everton have picked these last couple of weeks. Without Richarlison and Coleman, then without Richarlison, Coleman, Digne and James, two strikers and three at the back might’ve worked better than the turgid mess we’ve seen.
As for Newcastle, they’ve got enough defenders to be relatively solid and enough going on in attack to be a threat, but haven’t quite worked out the bit in the middle, other than on the counter. But they’re improving.
Everton have Man United next week and will definitely be without Richarlison, but Digne will be back and perhaps Rodriguez. They really need all of those, because Digne is key in creating ammunition for Calvert-Lewin and Rodriguez is their magic man, while Richarlison offers a second goal threat. Whisper it, but they might’ve used Walcott today.
And here’s more on the sad news from earlier.
The Women’s FA Cup Final is getting tense, currently Everton Women 1-1 Man City Women. Join Simon Burnton for the staggering denouement.
Callum Wilson tells Sky Newcastle have worked on getting across the man at the front post, so “I used my brain a little bit, tried to get him to kick me”. He apparently performed a shushing gesture after scoring, which he confirms was aimed at Mina, who kept telling him where he was going to put the penalty.
And it don’t stop. Manchester United v Arsenal kicks off in 28 minutes, and you can follow all of it with Rob Smyth.
Newcastle, meanwhile, were well-organised and the better side before they scored. I was impressed with how they played after taking the lead, and they have pretty decent attacking options now.
For the second Sunday in a row, Everton were really disappointing. It’s true that they were missing a fair few players today, but before the game it was hard to fathom what their plan was and how they might threaten goals, and having now sat through 90 minutes, I remain none the wiser.
Full-time: Newcastle United 2-1 Everton
That’s a great result for Newcastle, who leap up the table to 10th; they’re already 10 points away from the relegation zone. Everton, meanwhile stay second.
90+6 min Darlo comes for the cross under pressure from Olsen, and holds it well. That’ll be that.
90+6 min Bernard takes possession outside the box and tries a curler, that Darlo tips over! Corner to Everrton, and here comes Olsen!
90+5 min Murphy is booked for timewasting from a throw, then Everton win a corner and there’s a minor scramble, after which Fernandez wellies a clearance ... directly into the shins of Keane! But the ball shoots a yard or two wide.
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90+3 min “‘Fifa need to employ a lawyer who knows about football to sort this’,” says Gary Naylor. “Anyone in mind?”
I think Gary is noting my previous profession, but much as I’d try to fit them in, I’m not sure I can consider myself a lawyer, though I do have an old practising certificate in my throne room.
Updated
GOAL! Newcastle United 2-1 Everton (Calvert-Lewin 90+1)
Well! Iwobi, who’s been good since coming on, sends a low cross towards the near post area – I think it flicks off Lewis – and there’s Calvert-Lewin to administer one of the one-touch finishes Ancelotti has drummed into him, poking past Darlow from close range.
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90 min There’ll be 6 [six] added minutes.
89 min “Re: 62 minutes, you’re joking right?” says David Wall. “Isn’t there enough carping about referees’ decisions when giving a penalty (or not) without having to add in ‘debate’ about whether the foul denied a goalscoring opportunity. That can get contentious enough for fouls outside of the penalty area.”
I don’t care too much about any “debate”, I can just ignore it. But I find free goals being given for marginal, minor improvements very odd, and a well-drafted law would remove any ambiguity. This is actually a problem with the laws in general, and in particular with the current mess of a handball situation; Fifa need to employ a lawyer who knows about football to sort this.
88 min Fraser gets on the ball again and nips away from Doucoure, who pulls him down. He’s booked.
88 min Bruce sends Carroll on for the hat-trick-seeking Wilson.
87 min Iwobi, who should’ve come on earlier, slides a decent pass into Calvert-Lewin, who rifles an instashot just wide of the near post.
GOAL! Newcastle United 2-0 Everton (Wilson 85)
Well played Newcastle and well played Steve Bruce! At no point since taking the lead have the home team sat on this, so when Lewis sweeps a long pass down the line, Ryan Fraser, brought on for exactly this eventuality, preys on Mina, who should be dropping off to police an opponent quicker than than him. But he goes towards the ball, Fraser disappears, and when he crosses, the ball kicks off the defender’s desperate lunge and sits up nicely for Wilson to poke home at the far post. Bournemouth in the house! This game is done and done.
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84 min Sigurdsson allows a throw to run across him, taking Longstaff out of things in the process, before swinging around to shoot. But the ball flicks off Lascelles and is easily fielded by Darlow.
83 min Hayden replaces Almiron, who’s put in an absolute shift today – again. That’s not why he was signed, but failing a deluge of goals and assists, it’s something.
82 min Iwobi slings over a cross at which Sigurdsson dives, but Fernandez is there to head away.
81 min Newcastle win a free-kick down the right, send the big men forward, and then Longstaff swings it to Murphy, outside the box. The ball is behind him too, so he reaches around his arse to loop one towards the far side and Everton clear easily enough.
79 min Newcastle spring again, Fraser scurrying forward with Longstaff busting one to get with him. Nothing comes of it, but the home side are doing a really good job of defending their lead, making sure the ball stays away from their box whenever they can.
77 min Everton win a free-kick down the right and Sigurdsson swing it out, Keane first up but only to head over the bar. I’m not sure Everton have created a single chance today, a circumstance entirely foreseeable when looking at their starting XI.
77 min Iwobi replaces Kenny.
76 min Bit better from Everton, Doucoure, Allan and Kenny combining well down the right, but Kenny’s cross is kicked away by Lascelles.
74 min Newcastle make a change, Fraser replacing Saint-Maximin, who’s been disappointing. That’s a really good alteration to be able to make, and better that anything Ancelotti can do.
72 min Newcastle are pretty comfortable here; they look well-drilled, and every time they can counter they counter. So Murphy nips froward, away from Allan, who can do no other, bringing him down and earning a yellow card.
70 min I guess Everton are playing 4-4-2 now, but it’s hard to see how that’s going to work with no wingers.
69 min Mina pulls down Saint-Maximin and is booked.
69 min Tosun is the next Everton change; he replaces Nkounkou, who’s had an alright game, though I’d have liked to have seen more from him going forward.
66 min Everton are pushing now, but have very little on the bench. I’d not be surprised to see Iwobi soon, who might stretch Newcastle’s back five and attempt something unexpected. I’d have gone for him before Nursie Bernard.
Updated
64 min ...Sigurdsson curls it in and Calvert-Lewin is up, but can only impart a backheader, allowing Darlo to save. Perhaps if there’d been more pace on the ball, he’d have imparted enough pace – or angle – to take the keeper out of the equation.
64 min I’ve never seen Bernard play well, but he wins a free-kick 25 yards out, left of centre....
62 min Anyway, as I was saying, how about this: a foul or handball in the box where no goal is imminent results in a direct free-kick, but any foul or handball which prevents a goalscoring opportunity results in a penalty?
60 min Bernard replaces Gomes.
60 min We see that prior to the penalty, Mina was giving Wilson a few verbals, so Wilson shoved the ball into his breadbasket, for which he was booked.
58 min You’ve got to credit Wilson for chasing the ball and inducing the foul, but the reality is that the penalty law is a nonsense. Here’s what it should be, in mine but EXCUSE ME WHILE I INTERRUPT MYSELF! Two lovely passes, stabbed straight from Murphy to Almiron, inside the the box, and then from Almiron to Longstaff, allow yerman to turn on the ball, dragging it from behind him into his path before lamping a shot that clatters Olsen on the arm. Good play, good save.
GOAL! Newcastle United 1-0 Everton (Wilson pen, 56)
Olsen dives right and Wilson passes middle-left. That’s his third penalty so far this season, and he’s scored them all.
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56 min Wilson is ready, but VAR want another look...
54 min PENALTY TO NEWCASTLE!
Newcastle win a corner down the right which goes to the near post, and Gomes doesn’t know that Wilson is running towards it on his blind side. So when he goes to clear, he volleys Wilson instead, and what can you do?
Updated
51 min This is a bit better now, Calvert-Lewin finding Sigurdsson with a little touch back, and he goes wide to Kenny. The ensuing cross is a goodun, but Darlow does well to come for it, arriving ahead of the aforementioned Calvert-Lewin, who’d legged it into the box.
50 min Calvert-Lewin returns.
49 min In winning that ball, Calvert-Lewin took a bash in the face off of Schar, so disappears from the brief respite of treatment.
48 min But ey up, is something happening? Calvert-Lewin leaps like salmon on a trampoline to meet Kenny’s cross, heading up in the air then across to Sigurdsson, who makes to volley home the opener but misses the ball entirely. Lovely stuff.
47 min Calvert-Lewin slides a nice, oblique pass in behind the Newcastle defence, but as if Sigrudsson is catching up with that.
46 min “Of the many people that do not rate Pickford,” says JR in Illinois, “I probably rate him less than most of the people who don’t rate him rate him. Maybe Ancelotti didn’t trust Pickford to maintain his traditionally limited composure against his arch-enemies the Magpies.
As for Doucoure, he seems to be playing some sort of overlapping RCB position. He’s gotten forward occasionally but has often been even behind Allan. You might want to have a word with Uncle Carlo.”
It’s really very hard to know what’s going on here.
46 min We go again (as it were).
Back come the players....
“Coach’s issue with Pickford is too many bottom-handed and one-handed saves,” returns Martin Gamage. “The one-handed saves put a premium on getting his hand in exactly the right spot, and obviously means that there may be some he can catch that he doesn’t. Going with the bottom hand predominantly means that he doesn’t get the same height/forward motion on the save; the top-handed save stops the body falling backwards away from the ball and towards the goal.”
Thanks, that’s really interesting.
Half-time email: “Is being harebrained classifiable as a fundamental technical fault?” wonders Ian Copestake. “I’d love to see the powerpoint presentation designed to iron it out.”
Half-time activity: there’s a lot of negativity in the world, so here’s something positive.
Half-time: Newcastle United 0-0 Everton
That was not at all good, in any aspect whatsoever.
Updated
45+1 min Gomes levers Saint-Maximin out of possession and there’s a painful looking clash of ... hips. He should be fine, but that looked a right sair yin.
45 min There’ll be one additional minute.
45 min “This match highlights how valuable Richarlison is to this team,” says Mary Waltz. “He is both an offensive threat that forces the opposing team to pay attention to him and a physical force in defence. It’s no coincidence that Calvert-Lewin has been less effective in his absence.”
Yes, I agree - Richarlison has a lot of the raw materials necessary to become a top player. I’d not fancy marking him and Calvert-Lewin, but one is very manageable.
43 min Everton mess about outside the Newcastle box but Lewis defends well, then Lascelles, getting in front of Allan, and eventually the ball breaks to Delph, 25 yards out, and he canes a shot that flies off towards another dimension.
40 min The ball bobbles about a bit outside the Everton box and Almiron nudges it on, inciting Doucoure to concede a corner. This is a chance to pile in on the keeper making his Premier League debut, but Longstaff’s cross goes beyond the back post and the ball eventually finds its way behind for a goalkick.
39 min Allan hurts himself being diddled by Saint-Maximin, and goes down with ankle knack. He should be fine, though might be sore in the morning.
37 min “Each team seems to be set up to defend against teams that are better than the actual teams they are set up to defend against,” reckons Ian Copestake.
They’re both going for a -1 v -1 draw.
35 min “On the Pickford discussion, I’d agree with Stephen Carr,” says Martin Gamage. “My son’s goalkeeping coach isn’t a big fan of Pickford, largely because he has one or two fundamental technical faults which his agility often bails him out of, but it won’t as he gets older. My worry with Pickford would be that I am not sure he is significantly better now than he was 3-4 years ago. Having said that, goalkeeping is difficult, the hardest position on the pitch, but he needs to work on his concentration, positioning and decision making, the toughest bits to get right.”
Did he say what the technical flaws are? But yes, I agree – it’s not unfeasible that he sorts himself, but it does seem unlikely.
Everton’s English goalkeeper Jordan Pickford watches from his seat in the stands after being dropped. Photograph: Michael Regan/AFP/Getty Images
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34 min Bit of a tussle in the Everton box, Mina and Wilson grappling. It looks like Mina is the aggressor, until Wilson loses patience, deploying the shove and requesting a penalty. Nothing doing.
32 min Nkounkou is booked for a foul, on whom I did not see.
31 min But here come Newcastle on the counter! Almiron zooms away from Gomes – yes, yes, ok – turning him near his own box and feeding Wilson down the left. He looks up, comes inside, and slides a lovely pass into the path of Saint-Maximin, who’s in! But Olsen does really well to get out, blocking the lifted finish and refraining from wildly swinging feet. Good save, but really, Newcastle should be in front.
31 min Everton win a corner, which Darlow punches away. Great stuff.
30 min Doucoure strides forward after Lewis ignores a pass down the line to Wilson, finding Kenny outside him. The cross is directed towards the edge of the box, where Gomes sets himself for a blockbusting volley into the top corner that removes the net from its moorings, Hot-Shot Hamish-style ... and then Longstaff nips in to confiscate the ball.
28 min “I’m not sure playing Gomes and Sigurdsson on the shoulder of the last midfielder is going to work,” muses Gary Naylor.
They look like they’re the ones with two men on their shoulder.
27 min A ball into the box! Sigurdsson takes a nice pass from Doucoure and looks to snap over a low cross, but Fernandez deals with it easily enough.
25 min “I was just reading the VAR protocol in the Laws of the Game,” brags Andrew Goudie, “and it proved to be more interesting than this game. It says that a player/substitute/substituted player/team official who enters the video operation room will be sent off. I’d love to see that. Which club is nearest to Stockley Park?”
Er, QPR. But that’s no use to us, though it’s not unhandy for “Chelsea’s Harlington training ground”.
24 min “I think the main problem with Pickford is that, although he’s capable of making very good saves, they tend to be the more reactive type,” emails Stephen Carr. “Any aspect of his game that requires concentration, discipline and foresight falls short of what’s required at the level he clearly sees himself at.”
At 26, he’s still got time, but it’s fair to say that, by now, you’d expect him to be better than he is. I can’t imagine he’ll hang onto his England place for very much longer.
22 min Jaems Ward-Prowse has grown so much under Hasenhuttl. He scored two free-kicks today, and you can read about them here; his team beat Villa 4-3.
Updated
22 min I’m not sure Saint-Maximin has even had a touch yet.
21 min Nkounkou screeches past Murphy, but Schar was on hand to intervene.
19 min A ball over the top puts Keane in a race with Wilson. But a head start is enough for the defender to win it, before he and Kenny misread each other’s intentions, turning over possession to predictably little avail.
18 min Here we go, a ball into Calvert-Lewin, on halfway. His first touch isn’t great, but it entices Hendrick into fouling him.
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17 min This is not a good game. Both sides are struggling for fluency and neither looks balanced.
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15 min One of the things that was noteworthy about Everton last week was how rarely they got the ball into Calvert-Lewin. I wonder if we’ll see Doucoure getting close to him today, because without wingers, whow will he be made chances? Which is to say I’m not quite sure what Everton’s plan is here.
14 min Why do Newcastle spell it “Howay” while Sunderland spell it “Haway”? It is an accent thing?
12 min Darlow hurls out a throw that Sigurdsson reads, leaping to intercept. But his touch is slightly heavy, and the ball runs away into touch. That’s a lucky escape.
10 min Fernandez tries a crossfield ball out to Almiron, but Nkounkou, who impressed when playing in the Milk Cup earlier this season, reads it well and leaps to intercept.
8 min Delph into Sigurdsson, who tries a touch into the path of Doucoure, but can’t find the necessary accuracy.
6 min A long hump in behind Keane sees him dallying, waiting for it to bounce, which is all Wilson needs to confiscate possession, bursting into the box and lashing a shot wide of the near post.
5 min Meanwhile, I’m wondering if Newcastle are playing 3-4-3, while we learn that Pickford is definitely playing next week. That seems strange – perhaps it’s a warning, perhaps he needs a break after the maelstrom if the last fortnight – but what if Olsen has a belter today?
4 min Kenny and Sigurdsson move the ball down the right; Everton are going to need width from their full-backs.
3 min Back to Bobby Charlton, he’s the fifth member of England’s World Cup-winning team to suffer from that awful illness. You have to wonder if heading those monstrous balls is part of that, and hope that the FA and clubs are offering help.
2 min I guess Everton’s formation affords their full-backs some protection.
1 min Andy Hinchcliffe reckons Everton are playing 4-2-3-1, with Allan and Delph in front of the back four, Doucoure off the right and Gomes off the left.
1 min We’re away!
The players take a knee. ALL BLACK LIVES MATTER.
A minute’s silence to remember the war fallen.
This has got to be the greatest pre-match music in the country, right?
Tim Cahill reckons Everton will play 4-4-2, but I wonder if their five central midfielders mean we’ll see something a little tighter.
Here come the teams...
I really don’t know what’s going to happen in this game. I would not expect a surfeit of goals, that’s for sure.
Also going on now: Everton Women take on Man City Women in the Women’s FA Cup final. Follow along here:
Incidentally, that Sturm Graz game I mentioned earlier – during it, this happened. Whatever happened to that lad?
I’m looking forward to watching Sean Longstaff today. People were shocked by what Manchester United wanted to pay for him last summer, but I think there’s something to it. He was brilliant when Newcastle beat Man City, a long time ago now, but also, Michael Carrick is a coach at United and his brother Graeme has known Longstaff for years. Which is to say that his attitude must be approved, and if there’s one thing Michael knows about, it’s how to play the deeper midfield role.
Who’d be a goalie?
“Smart from Don Carlo,” tweets Gary Naylor. “Pickford needs time to think about what kind of goalie he wants to be – and he’s always a bit scrambled against the Toon. He’s in danger of becoming a keeping David Luiz - one third resplendent, one third routine, one third ridiculous.”
I think it’s good management to take him out once the fuss has died down a bit, but yes, I agree. He needs to get his head right, because his mistakes tend to be mistakes of concentration and judgment.
Steve Bruce tells Sky that every team has good players, which explains Everton’s gubbing last week. On their XI, he notes that they’ve got injuries and suspensions, which will proliferate given the schedule.
Feel free to share examples of your comparable idiocy.
I have a nice Bobby Charlton story. When I was at university, I got the train to Manchester, as was my wont, to watch United play Sturm Graz. It was the last one you could get and still get to the game on time, so like everyone doing the same, I walked down the train to be one of the first off. And who should I see but Sir Robert! So I said hi and thanked him, mainly on behalf of my dad, for all his incredible work. He very generously asked if I’d like to accompany him to Old Trafford, joining him in his cab. “Thanks a lot, that’s really kind of you,” I said. “But you’re alright – my friend’s picking me up.”
What an absolute moron.
Sad news just announced by Sky: Bobby Charlton has been diagnosed with dementure.
Talking of Southampton – how good is Ralph Hasenhuttl? – they’re now 4-1 up at Villa. Rob Smyth has the latest.
Updated
As for Everton, the headline news is the tinning of Jordan Pickford. It’s not nice to say, but that has been a long time coming and presumably in the post for a while, as he wasn’t at fault for last week’s abjectivity, but Robin Olsen gets a go. Otherwise, poor Ben Godfrey is left out after making his Everton debut at right-back – Jonjoe Kenny returns after injury – and Niels Nkounkou replaces Digne, making his Premier League debut. Otherwise, Fabian Delph and Andre Gomes replace Alex Iwobi and James, making it tricky to see who might create what. My guess is that Abdoulaye Docoure is asked to augment the attack, with Gylfi Sigurdsson give a free role.
Updated
Gosh, there’s a lot to digest here. Newcastle go defensive, with only two attacking players in midfield this week – Ryan Fraser is replaced by Sean Longstaff, but that’s the only change from last weekend. My guess is that the formation will be 5-3-1-1, but who knows.
Let's have some teams!
Newcastle United (a revolutionary’s 5-3-1-1): Darlow; Murphy, Schar, Lascelles, Fernandez, Lewis; Almiron, Hendrick, S.Longstaff; Saint-Maximin; Wilson. Subs: Gillespie, Clark, Carroll, Joelinton, Hayden, Manquillo, Fraser.
Everton (a 4-diamonte-1-1): Olsen; Kenny, Mina, Keane, Nkounkou; Delph, Doucoure, Allan, Gomes; Sigurdsson; Calvert-Lewin. Subs: Pickford, Tosun, Iowbi, Bernard, Gordon, Branthwaite, Simms.
VAR’s straight man: Stuart Atwell (Firswod, Manchester)
Updated
Preamble
Afternoon all! This should be an interesting one. Newcastle won a late point at Wolves last time out, a match for which Steve Bruce selected two attacking full-backs in a back five, two wingers and an attacking midfielder in midfield, and a wide attacker and a centre-forward up front. Naturally, they created few chances and their goal came from a set-piece, but it’s the thought that counts. Steve Bruce is fun!
Everton, meanwhile, were extremely poor at an extremely good Southampton, outfought, outthought and outplayed. And today they’ll not only be without Seamus Coleman, still injured, and Richarlison, still suspended, but Lucas Digne, freshly suspended, and James Rodríguez, semi-freshly injured. They’ve still got some decent players, but Newcastle will fancy this.
Kick-off: 2pm GMT
